Chapter 23

I wait a few moments, thinking about this decision and the causes and effects. We may get a few sanctions for using a Hawking Pulsewave, but I had to enter that bunker. So long as we dont break stealth and keep our transponder powered off, we should be fine.

After a bit of second-guessing and making absolutely sure I want to use a Weapon of Devestation in direct violation of the Treaty of Sirus,Which considers any weapon which can alter the surface conditions of a planet as a 'weapon of devestation' - Whilst a Weapon of Mass Destruction was something that could render a whole star system non-existent.

While frowned upon in some interstellar circles when used by private entities (such as a privateer, which is probably what we are at the moment) Weapons of Devestation are not outlawed for private entities, but are outlawed for standing armies. Of course, They do have a case-by-case basis for Weapons of Devestation, certain weapons like Heisenberg Pulse generators are completely outlawed.

However; Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) have a blanket non-proliferation coverage clause in the Treaty of Sirus. Which effectively outlaws the sale, transfer, use, and manufacture of WMDs by private entities. Governments can only use the technologies for commercial applications (such as Phizon fusion, in the case of Quantum Pulse).

The Treaty of Sirus was signed by both the Systems Commonwealth and the Terran Federation. As well as the Altherian Confederation and the Gravidan Empire. The Iridians are a non-signatory and have not ratified the treaty, so it stands to reason that Farsa had zero qualms with putting a Hawking Pulsewave cannon on a ship in the hands of a private entity, such as myself.

Bearing all of this in mind, I gave the order. "You may fire when ready, guns." I heard the Gravidan weapons officer grunt, then after a short silence "initiating singularity ignition sequence. Power transferring.

***

On the third deck of the ship, there is a soft cherenkov glow as a series of high-energy lasers fire at a small ball of plasma in the exact center of the ignition chamber of the Hawking Pulsewave cannon. It only takes a split second for them to form a small mass of plasma, an analogue to a miniature sun. the fuel is used up in the next second, and it collapses in on itself, forming a micro singularity in the center of the chamber, smaller than the tip of a pin.

As the Singularity forms, a series of incredibly powerful lasers are powered on from the aft portion of the chamber and fire at the singularity, feeding it high-energy photons. After firing they shut off and the singularity grows slightly before emitting a burst of Hawking radiation, which is focused by several reflective lenses inside the breech of the barrel as it bounces off the ceramic and graphene walls towards the throat of the barrel.

When the radiation passes through the lenses, condensated tachyons and thermal energy exits the barrel at superluminous speed, creating a visual of lines being sucked into the barrel and the lenses glow a red-hot color before firing. Electricity crackles as the capacitors discharge energy into the mass of hawking radiation particles and an electromagnetic coil is energized, the electrical current from the charged particles reciprocally charge the electromagnetic field, and resistance builds up in the coil, and after a moment the weapon fires. The entire process takes two and a half seconds.

A brilliant orange beam streaks towards Eridan-V Beta, and upon contact with the upper atmosphere, the surrounding air immediately disintegrates and the beam eventually strikes the ground, churning up the soil and bedrock as rings of condensate form around the beam in the atmosphere.

After a moment, the beam dissipates and there is an incredibly loud boom as the pocket where air was vaporized by the beam rapidly fills with the surrounding air, and a large pressure wave ripples outwards, flattening trees and throwing debris high into the air. When the dust settles, there is nothing left of a mountain which stood over the bunker complex. The bedrock, now exposed, glows white hot.

***

It had been an hour and a half since the testfiring of our Hawking pulsewave cannon. I was about to land in the passenger compartment of one of our shuttles about 200 meters from the edge of the crater where a mountain used to be. "Thirty seconds, Captain!" the pilot communicated with me via a headset. I gave them a thumb up and checked my gear over one final time.

I chose a shotgun and a smaller submachine gun chambered in a 5.6x33mm cartridge, since Iridians are more fragile than a human being. Even an intermediate cartridge will likely be overkill for their slender bodies where organs are packed together tighter. I chamber the first round in my Zetter & Meltz 56, pulling the rear-mounted charging handle back. Simultaneously, I tilt the weapon to the left, checking the right-hand ejection port as the dust cover flips up to ensure the first round feeds correctly into the chamber.

The weapon is another weapon I had since the end of my service. Having been modified over the years to fit my own personal tastes and preferences - I included a folding, adjustable stock, a sound suppressor, laser sight and a flip-up mGlass-enabled red-dot sight that gave me an ammo counter and a very clean sight picture.

As the shuttle landed I heard the spooldown of the Phizon engines and the side bay door opened, hinging upwards and extending a boarding ramp, which hinged downwards to the ground. "Good hunting, captain!" I heard the pilot on my com as I head down the ramp and crouch on one knee to scope out my surroundings as the shuttle dusts off.

With the shuttle's engine noise fading in the distance, I start moving towards the curled edge of the crater. Peering over the side, I can see that the side walls of the crater still glow a faint red and I can feel the heat, the bedrock melted away into ash and the sky above was cloudy black with the soot of vaporized rocks and dirt. A fire was burning in the distance, a direct result of the destruction of the mountain which once stood where I now stand and peer into the depths of the moon's crust.

After a moment of thought, I decide that I need to somehow make it down there. So I remove a 1.5 Liter rigid polymer backpack from my shoulders and open it. Inside I find a grappling gun with a 4-hooked grappling hook head. The gun itself was a CO2-driven gun that was more than enough to hurl the grappling hook to the crater lip to allow me to scale the walls of the crater.

After bringing it out, I press a pair of buttons on the barrel muzzle to remove the hook. After finding somewhere to secure it, I tie the rope to a petrified tree, then after shouldering my backpack and Shotgun, I begin descent.

Rappelling down the side wall of the crater, I can feel the scorching heat the further I descend. As my body sweats to cool off the deeper and deeper I descend, I also begin to see an emergency access panel with surrounding metallic bulkhead.

"Here it is." I say to no one in particular, more to myself than anything. After ensuring the rope is secure, I try to rip the hatch open and find it fused shut by the sheer heat down in the crater. I was 150 meters down in the crust of the moon and if not for the Hawking pulsewave, I would have had to find the entrance, but I do not have the luxury of time.

So I remove my pack again and open it, finding a black, hockey-puck sized object inside with a pair of buttons on the top. A matter-antimatter fueled, shaped breaching charge. I press the left side button and a red light lights up alongside it around the right hand button, indicating it is armed.

I press the red-lined button and it beeps steadily in a 10-second countdown. The beeping speeds up as the countdown drags on for 10 seconds. After sticking the charge to the metal bulkhead, I leap over the side of the bulkhead and hang onto the edge. Feeling the heat of the rock lava beneath me, a result of the intense heat.

The charge detonates and I feel the bulkhead shudder under the shaped charge blast. I nearly lose my grip and manage to swing a hand back up to the edge to pull myself and my 60 pound kit back up over the side with a labored growl. I peer down in the hole with my sidearm pointed into the hole. I jump down into the hole and am greeted by… Nothing! Not even an attack Kreegu.